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Tim Woods
George Burrell "Tim" Woodin, (July 28, 1934-November 30, 2002) better known as "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods, was an accomplished American amateur and professional wrestler. Career Began his wrestling career at the age of 29 using the name Tim Woods. He was given the name "Mr. Wrestling" by Nebraska promotor Joe Dusek. Mr Wrestling became a major superstar in the Georgia, Florida, Texas & Mid-Atlantic territories. He had his final match in 1983, teaming up with Mr. Wrestling II against the Road Warriors. Woodin was involved in the same 1975 plane crash that involved pilot Joseph Michael Farkas (he was put in a coma and died the next year), wrestling legend Johnny Valentine (broke his back and bone fragments inpacted into his spinal cord, which ended his career), wrestler Bob Bruggers (broke his back and had a steel rod put in; Bruggers could have made a comeback, but he decided to retire), future legend Ric Flair (broke his back, but recovered and returned to wrestling), and JCP announcer David Crockett. At the hospital, Woodin gave them his real name (George Burrell Woodin), and told them that he was a promoter. Since Woodin wrestled under the name Tim Woods, a newspaper article in the Charlotte Observer listed his name as his real name, George Burrell Woodin, and mentioned that he was a promoter. Woodin was the only babyface wrestler on the plane, while the rest wrestled as heels, and this was back in the days when kayfabe was not broken (at the time, Woods was feuding with Flair and Valentine). Eventually, rumors began circulating that Tim Woods WAS in fact on the plane. Unwilling to risk the exposure of professional wrestling, he got back in the ring 2 weeks after the crash and was obviously in extreme pain. Ric Flair later said in his book "To Be the Man", that he was more than just 'Mr. Wrestling' that day, he was the man who saved wrestling. Woodin eventually returned to wrestling but retired shortly thereafter. On November 30, 2002, Tim "Mr. Wrestling" Woods, died from a heart attack at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina at the age of 68. Outside of Pro Wrestling Tim Woodin earned an Agricultural Engineering degree at Cornell University and a Mechanical Engineering degree at Michigan State University. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler at Michigan State University and had a very strong amateur wrestling background. He was an avid collector of motorcycles as well as an accomplished photographer and saxophone player. Woods also ran a heating and air conditioning business after retiring from the ring. Championships and accomplishments Amateur wrestling *'Amateur Athletic Union' **AAU National Championship (1955, 1957) *'Big Ten Conference' **Big Ten Conference Championship (1958, 1959) Professional wrestling *'All Japan Pro Wrestling' **Champion Carnival Technique Award (1975) **World's Strongest Tag Determination League Fighting Spirit Award (1979) - with The Masked Strangler *'American Wrestling Association' **Nebraska Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Big Time Promotions' **Big Time Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Cauliflower Alley Club' **Other honoree (2002) *'Championship Wrestling from Florida' **NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Hiro Matsuda (1) and Big Bad John (1) **NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time) **NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (4 times) *'George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame' ** Class of 2001 *'Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling' **NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dino Bravo **NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (1 time) **NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dino Bravo *'Mid-South Sports/Georgia Championship Wrestling' **NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (3 times) **NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (6 times) - with Mr. Wrestling II (4), Steve Keirn (1) and Thunderbolt Patterson (1) **NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Mr. Wrestling II **NWA Columbus Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'NWA Big Time Wrestling' **NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with George Scott **NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'NWA Hollywood Wrestling' **NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Pak Song (1) and Dr. Death (1) **NWA Beat The Champ Television Championship (1 time) *'NWA Mid-America' **NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' **PWI ranked him #'394' of the top 500 singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 External links * Profile Woods, Tim Category:George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Category:Masked Wrestlers Category:1934 births Category:2002 deaths Category:1963 debuts Category:1984 retirements Category:All Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Central States Wrestling alumni Category:Championship Wrestling From Florida alumni Category:Continental Wrestling Association alumni Category:Georgia Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Jim Crockett Promotions alumni Category:NWA Big Time Wrestling alumni Category:NWA Hollywood Wrestling alumni Category:Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Wrestlers who have died Category:New York wrestlers Category:Male wrestlers Category:NWA World Tag Team Champions